Improvement in straw and hay cutters



s. c. sTETs-ON.

Straw Cutter. No. 34,076. Patented 1an. 7,1862.

a c? v l' Il o7 g l t d d fyi UN'ITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

S. C. STETSON, OF NORTH BRIDGE'WATER, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN STRAW AND HAY CUTTERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 34,076, dated January'7, 1862.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, S. C. STETSON, of North Bridgewater, in the countyof Plymouth and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Machines for Cutting Hay, Straw, &c.; and I dohereby declare that the following description, taken in connection withthe accompanying drawings, hereinafter referred to, forms a full andexact specification of the same, wherein I have set forth the nature andprinciples of my said improvements, by which my invention may bedistinguished from all others of a similar class, together with suchparts as I claim and desire to have secured to me by Letters Patent.

The figures of the accompanyingl plate of drawings represent myimprovements.

Figure lis a side elevation. Fig. 2 is a plan or top view. Fig. 3 is acentral longitudinal vertical section. Fig. t is an end View. Fig. 5 isa transverse vertical section. Fig. 6 is a detail view.

The design of my invention is to so construct a machine for cuttingstraw, hay, &c., as to render it self-feeding-that is, so that theoperators Aduty will be simply to perform the cutting movement. In myimproved machine the material' to be cut is fed along to the knife orknives b means of a travelin' b apron, which is actuated by the samemovement that operates the cutting devices. The means employed foreffecting the cutting and feeding operations are so arranged with regardto each other that the material to be cut is held stationary while theknife is performing its work. I have also made otherim provements, thatwill be hereinafter fully explained.

acta in the drawings represent the supporting frame-work of the machine.l

b b is an endless apron passing around two rollers c d, one placed ateach end of the machine. To tighten the apron Z9 b when it becomesstretched and loose, the roller c has its bearings in movable boxes orjournals e and f, Figs. 2 and 3, actuated so as to be moved back andforth at pleasure by set-screws g g.

The endless apron is fed along as follows: Upon the end of the journalof the roller d is a ratchet-wheel h, Fig. 1, with which engages theteeth of a right-angular bar 'L' 7c. In the short arm k of the bar t' kis a stud or pin Z, which travels in a slot m in a fixed plate fn, thestud Z serving to guide the bar z' 7c in its up and down motions that itreceives, as follows: The cutting devices are composed of two knives oo, placed at any suitable angle with regard to each other, as shown inFig. 4, and secured in a frame p p, that moves in guiding-ways q q. o ris an arm attached to the apex of the knife-frame by a pivot-joint s,and turning upon a center at t. The arm r r terminates in a handle u andmoves in a way o Q), formed in the frame-work of themachine. Thus itwill be seen that when the handle u is raised the arm rr will abutagainst the end of the arm 7c, and thus through the teeth on the lowerend of the arm hand the ratchet-wheel h give an intermittent rotarymotion to the roller d, and consequently impart a feeding motion to theendless a` ron b Z7.

The cutting operation is performec simply by the downward movement ofthe handle u, the material to be cut resting upon a bedo c and actedupon by the knives o o, and the apron b b remaining stationary from thefact that the teeth upon the bar z' 7c will, by the dropping of the saidbar in consequence of the downward movement of the handle, slip freelyover the teeth of the ratchet-wheel 7L.

The length of the feeding movement imparted to the apron b b can bevaried at pleasure, so that the substances to be operated upon can becut in greater or less lengths by means of a grooved bar w, which can beraised or lowered, as desired, and then fastened by means of a set-screww', the short arm k of the bar i 7c resting upon the top of the groovedbar w, so that the stroke of the bar i k, and consequently the extent ofrotation of the ratchet-wheel h, will be regulated by the position ofthe bar w.

x Fig. 6, is apressure-roller, hung in suitable bearings on a frame orbar y y, which frame or bar is hung at any suitable point upon theframe-work ce c. d so as to swing freely thereon. By this arrangementthe material that is being fed along upon the apron h b will pass underand be held down thereon by the roller a; fr, which from the peculiarway in which it is hung will exert a yielding pressure upon the straw,hay, disc., and keep it firmly held While the knives are cutting.Moreover, the bar or frame y y, from its inclined position, will act asa guide to keep the straw or hay from riding up, and Will guide itdownward to the roller x. v

In lieu of the roller :c and its swinging bar or frame y y, a roller a',Fig. 3, may be used, hung in a vertically-placed plate b', that maytravel in Vertical Ways c c', so as to be free to move up and down andexert a yielding pressure upon the material to be out. The downwardpressure of the rollers or LL may, if desirable, be increased bysuitable springs acting upon their bearings.

Having thus described my improvements, I shall state my claim, asfollows:

The arrangement of the right-angular bar fa' 7c, ratchet-wheel h, andbar w, operating together as described.

S. C. STETSON.

Witnesses:

FRED. HANSON, MARCUS M. HOLMES.

